Like a growing teenager whose clothes never seem to fit, Woodmex has been causing its parents a few headaches.

Sales manager John Southam, along with the show’s owner and sponsor, the Woodworking Machinery Suppliers Association (WMSA), has spent months sweating over plans of the various halls at Birmingham’s NEC, figuring out where exactly to site the UK’s biggest woodworking and sawmill machinery show when it takes place in November.

Woodmex 2000, held in the NEC’s Hall 5, was nearly bursting at the seams. This year, 10% of exhibitors are expected to be new to the show, and some categories – notably mechanical handling vehicles, packaging and wrapping machinery and finishing equipment – will be much better represented.

But taking a second, separate hall to accommodate the newcomers might have confused a few visitors and left some exhibitors feeling out on a limb. And moving to a different part of the NEC complex was a non-starter since it would split Woodmex away from the furniture-focused ASFI show – and many visitors like to attend both.

So finally, having considered and rejected all the existing spaces, the organisers have taken the only remaining option: build a new one.

Woodmex 2002 will now include an extra 800m2 of stand space on top of the 16,000m2 available in Hall 5, thanks to a ‘temporary permanent’ tension-walled structure to be built directly on the side of the main hall.

‘We want to make it quite clear we’re not talking about a tent,’ says Mr Southam, ‘The interior looks little different to a regular exhibition hall.’

Greater choice

With more exhibitors being fitted in, visitors should benefit from a greater choice of suppliers across all categories, although the range of equipment and services on offer – already pretty wide – is expected to be broadly as before. This, say the organisers, means ‘all areas of solid wood and panel processing technology’, including machinery, tooling, software solutions, powered tools, forklifts and other handling equipment, dust extraction plant and a wide range of services.

&#8220’We want to make it quite clear we’re not talking about a tent. The interior of the Woodmex extension looks little different to a regular exhibition hall.”

”

John Southam, Woodmex sales manager

The aim has always been to turn Woodmex into the principal trade-only show for the UK industry, from the biggest furniture and joinery firms down to specialist craftsmen, stopping just short of the hobby market. So there will be suppliers of handtools, nail guns and other lower price-ticket items for those who have only just made the leap from hobbiest to professional.

According to Mr Southam, 84% of the total stand space is already sold and 89% of space in the original Hall 5. A list of exhibitors issued at the end of March includes over 160 companies, of which the vast majority are confirmed bookings.

First-timers at Woodmex 2002 will include Iranian company TFICO, which manufactures steel and tungsten carbide-tipped knives for a range of industries, particularly woodworking and paper. As well as wear-parts and tungsten carbide inlays, its export department will be presenting a range of solutions, including veneer knives, sheer blades, planer knives and chipper knives.

Seminar programme

A programme of seminars to run alongside the show is being finalised, but one guaranteed attraction is the now familiar apprentices’ competition run by the Institute of Machine Woodworking Technology. As before, the young competitors will be making items such as wine racks for sale to visitors. ‘Whatever they produce, they can never make enough of them,’ says Mr Southam, ‘and they always raise a couple of thousand for charity.’

Woodmex has extended its stand sales promotion to overseas companies for 2002, which has already yielded a few more international companies. However, since most of those that exhibit are UK agents for overseas companies this looks set to remain a broadly domestic show.

The 2000 event saw nearly 15,000 furniture makers, joiners, shopfitters and others walking through Woodmex’s doors. If that can be matched this year the WMSA will be more than happy. n

l Woodmex takes place on November 17-20 at the NEC, Birmingham. For more details, phone Centre Exhibitions on 0121 767 3915 or visit www.woodmex.com.